Verse 1.17.54

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.17.54:

সংসার-সমুদ্র হৈতে উদ্ধারহ মোরে এই আমি দেহ সমর্পিলাঙ তোমারে ॥ ৫৪ ॥

संसार-समुद्र हैते उद्धारह मोरे एइ आमि देह समर्पिलाङ तोमारे ॥ ५४ ॥

saṃsāra-samudra haite uddhāraha more ei āmi deha samarpilāṅa tomāre || 54 ||

samsara-samudra haite uddharaha more ei ami deha samarpilana tomare (54)

English translation:

(54) “Please deliver Me from the ocean of material existence. I surrender Myself unto you.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Taking shelter at the lotus feet of a spiritual master is the main entrance to the practice of devotional service to the Lord. That is why the spiritual master of all servants and the ācārya of abhidheya, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, has in the course of describing the symptoms of devotional service in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu written as follows:

guru-pādāśrayas tasmāt kṛṣṇa-dīkṣādi-śikṣaṇam viśrambheṇa guroḥ sevā sādhu-vartmānuvartanam

Those living entities who desire their eternal ultimate benefit and freedom from material bondage should first take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master who is a manifestation of the Supreme Lord. There is no way of being delivered from the ocean of anarthas without fully surrendering at the lotus feet of the spiritual master. Unless one takes

shelter of a bona fide spiritual master who is fixed in the Absolute Truth and conversant in Vedic knowledge, a living entity cannot attain the goal of life through the process of argument. The argument-afflicted hearts of godless people who are ever-forgetful of the lotus feet of the spiritual master and who are averse to the Vedic way of life have taken shelter of the four defects—bhrama (the tendency to commit mistakes), pramāda (the tendency to be illusioned), vipralipsā (the tendency to cheat) and karaṇāpāṭava (imperfect senses)—in such a way that there is no scope for taking shelter of the lotus feet of the spiritual master, rather there is only guru-droha and bhagavad-droha, envy of the spiritual master and envy of the Supreme Lord. Those who are determined to merge into the ocean of material existence have no goal other than the unauthorized path of argument. They are unable to accept the shelter of the Vedic way of life or a bona fide spiritual master. If persons who are averse to the service of the Lord and who follow the path of argument proudly accept a so-called guru who is an attached householder covered by unauthorized seminal considerations as their spiritual master, and if, being induced by blind faith, they continue like this for millions of kalpas, they will never achieve eternal benefit. In order to propagate this great truth and educate people, jagad-guru Śrī Gaurasundara considered Himself a surrendered soul at the lotus feet of the guru and thus instructed everyone about śaraṇāgati, in the form of ātma-nikṣepa and kārpaṇya, full self-surrender and humility. Those who follow the path of material argument in order to fulfil the deficiency and insubstantiality of a spiritual master who is fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa and whose all endeavors are meant for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa have no possibility of being delivered from the pangs of hell.